Re: Tennis thread

Weary from two months of nonstop winning, Nadal got run around the court Saturday and, ultimately, bounced from the Cincinnati Masters one step shy of another title match. Instead, Novak Djokovic reached the final with a 6-1, 7-5 victory that only delayed the inevitable atop the world rankings.

In two weeks, the 22-year-old Spaniard automatically will move up a spot to No. 1.

“I feel happy because for sure to be No. 1 is hard work from a long, long time ago,” Nadal said. “But there’s no time to be excited and enjoy.”

By reaching the semifinals of the $2.6 million ATP Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Nadal piled up enough points to overtake Roger Federer as the world’s No. 1 player. Given the way points accrue—the last 52 weeks are counted—he will surpass Federer in the Aug. 18 rankings.

Federer has been No. 1 for a record 235 consecutive weeks. He and Nadal have been ranked 1-2 since July 25, 2005. Nadal will become the third Spaniard to hold the No. 1 spot, joining Carlos Moya (1999) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003).He could have moved up immediately by winning in Cincinnati, but wore down as the week went along. Djokovic ended Nadal’s long run of winning tennis—32 straight matches, five straight tournaments—by being more aggressive, taking chances and making Nadal work hard for every point, especially in the opening set.

“The way he was playing, we all thought he was not going to lose any time soon,” Djokovic said. “I tried not to think about his winning streak and his new ranking.”

Djokovic ran off the first eight points in the match, and allowed Nadal to win only six points while he pulled ahead 5-0. During the second set, Nadal missed a backhand so badly that the ball flew into the fifth row of seats behind the baseline.

After a so-so performance in the semifinals on Thursday night, Nadal said he was starting to feel the effect of all those matches he’s played in the last two months, including his epic five-set victory over Federer at Wimbledon. On Saturday, he looked worn down in the opening set.

“Probably I wasn’t at my 100 percent,” Nadal said. “During all this tournament, I didn’t play my best much.”

The third-seeded Djokovic will play Andy Murray for the title on Sunday. Murray reached his first Masters series final by beating Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-4.

Karlovic made a change at the top possible. The 6-foot-10 Croat was in a deep slump heading into the tournament, having lost his last three matches. The fast courts in Cincinnati suited his hard-to-track serve.

Karlovic put together the most surprising run of the tournament—and pulled off its biggest upset. He knocked off Federer in three sets Thursday, opening the way for Nadal to move ahead of the Swiss star.

Playing in his first Masters series semifinal, Karlovic met his match. Murray’s solid game prevented Karlovic from getting comfortable. Karlovic had 32 unforced errors to Murray’s nine.

Murray didn’t consider it a big deal to reach his first Masters final. Winning it would be something else.

“I don’t think there’s a huge difference between a semifinal and a final, but to win it would be huge,” Murray said. “I’m going to have to play against one of the best players in the world to win it. I feel like I’m playing well enough to do it.”

During his first four matches, Karlovic held serve in 49 of 50 games, the only failure coming against Federer. Murray broke his serve twice in the opening set, setting the tone.

It’s been an encouraging summer for Murray, the top-ranked British player at No. 9. At Wimbledon, the 21-year-old Scot reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time. He also reached the semifinals last week in Toronto before losing to Nadal.

His biggest concern has been his right knee. An irregular kneecap can cause swelling and pain, and the matches on hard courts last week left him with some inflammation. He had a scan last Monday to make sure nothing was seriously wrong.

Murray twisted the knee on a shot in the quarterfinals Friday, leaving him limping for several minutes. He moved fluidly Saturday and kept Karlovic off-balance. He twisted the knee slightly during the second set and needed a few seconds to stretch.

“It’s fine,” Murray said. “I’ve been making sure I get ice on it after every match. It hurts sometimes after matches.”

Re: Tennis thread

Did anybody watched the Australian Open Men's Singles title last night?

It was a thrilling 5-set match that Rafael Nadal won over Roger Federer. It was surprising to see Roger to break out in tears during the trophy presentation. I guess he was dead serious in tying Pete Sampras' record of 14 grand slam tournaments.

Nadal for his part improved his career matchup with Roger to 13-6. Nadal has won the last 5 meeting against Roger, 3 coming from grand slam finals (2008 French, 2008 Wimbledon and last night).

Re: Tennis thread

MANILA, Philippines – It will be pity if a rare gem like Filipino junior netter Francis Casey Alcantara will be put to waste because of funding problems.

Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) development program director Randy Villanueva appealed to the private sector to support Alcantara who showed he is the future of Philippine tennis as he became the first Filipino to win a grandslam tournament.

Partnering with Chinese Taipei's Cheng Pei Hsieh, the Asian tandem ruled the Australian Open boys doubles event with a 6-4, 6-2, decision over Mikhal Briyukov of Russia and Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama in the finals disputed Saturday at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

“Nino (as Alcantara is fondly called) showed he has the talent and heart when he scored the historic win. He has the credentials to become a world class player and I just hope, the private sector will see this and help in further developing his skills," said Villanueva.

Only 17-years old, Alcantara has the making of another Felix Barrientos, considered the best tennis players the country produced in the late 80s.

The Cagayan de Oro native is ranked number 20th in the world by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). His Australian Open victory also surpassed Barrientos’ quarterfinals showing in the 1985 Wimbledon when he was named the world’s top junior player.

Barrientos became the toast of Philippine tennis in the 90s and has led the country in the World Group in the 1991 Davis Cup. The country played Sweden in the Group Tie at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium losing 0-5 to their visiting opponents.

“It would be a pity if we could not take care of Alcantara because of funding problems. If corporations specially those supporting basketball in the country can give support amounting to the salary of a bench warmer for Nino, that will be a big help for his development," added Villanueva.

Villanueva, a former National team member, also challenged Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) officials who have long been hoping to find talented young players from the grassroots program.

"We have been talking about grassroots development and Casey is a good example of a homegrown talent who harnessed his skills while playing in local tournaments. If all of us including sports officials, can't support him, then we must blame ourselves if Casey would not be able to reach his full potentials," Villanueva said.

Alcantara arrived Sunday afternoon and as part of his incentive for his historic feat, Philta is expected to see him as one of the four players in the RP Davis Cup team that will meet Hong Kong from March 6 to 8 in the Asia Oceania Zone Group II tie. – GMANews.TV

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